As for the senate, yes, Keating was right but we have had some extreme governments and the senate should be able to limit the damage they can do. It's a worry that it is failing in this regard.
It needs to be brought up to date and the rigid party discipline broken. Have no idea how that would be done. Reducing their term to three years would be a start.
Your post contradicts itself. On the one hand you praise the Senate for limiting "the damage" an elected Govt can do, but then suggest reducing their term in office down to 3 years to effectively match the House of Reps term ??
The very reason that only half are up for election every time the House of Reps is exposed to an election is to
not have wholesale changeout during a big swing, thereby stabilising the ship somewhat.
If the Senate changed composition in a similar manner to the House every 3 years, you would see wild swings, where radical policy was introduced by one party and then radically removed again by the next party.....and to and fro it would be.
What you suggest as the cure would simply magnify the problem.
the rigid party discipline broken.
People in Australia, the vast majority of people, vote along party lines, not for individuals as such. Officially they do vote for individuals, and in the eyes of the AEC parties don't exist and it is individuals who are elected....but the people elected (other than independents) are simply there to represent the general philosophy of the party.
I saw this only too well. At a state level, our local member was a member of a party, and she held office for 3 terms (roughly 9 years). In that time she became very well known, obviously had a major office presence and went to all of these official functions and school events, and people generally liked her.
However, during her 3rd term, she got a bit big for her boots and told the party officials to get stuffed. You would have applauded her Thommo. She quit the party and sat the rest of her term as an independent. She spent the next two years building up her profile even higher and stood as an independent at great personal cost and effort.
Her former party simply selected another candidate and sure as eggs at the next election, everyone voted for him and she was turfed out. People didn't support her personally. They only supported her if she was the party representative.
To me, that was a graphic real life illustration of where the collective mindset of the Australian voting public is. We vote for party ideals and party policy, not individuals.....despite the undertone of Australian larrikinism where you've gotta be a rogue and go it alone.